PHOTOS: Winter driving in Alberta (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). Below: Alberta Transportation Minister Brian Mason and Opposition Transportation Critic Wayne Drysdale. That Carillion bankruptcy … did it ring any bells with you? It certainly should have. The spectacular collapse of the U.K. construction giant Carillion PLC has not just shaken the British government, it’s rattled other […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Canadian labour movement abuzz in wake of Unifor decision to quit Canadian Labour Congress
PHOTOS: Unifor President Jerry Dias (Photo: Unifor Local 591-G). Below: Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff and former Ontario Federation of Labour President Sid Ryan. The Canadian labour movement is abuzz debating and speculating on the potential ramifications of the decision of Canada’s largest private-sector union to quit the Canadian Labour Congress. Unifor’s National Executive […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Whose side should Canada take if two NATO states start shooting at each other? Don’t laugh … it could happen
PHOTOS: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. If he looks ticked off, it’s probably because he is. (Photo: Kremlin.ru via Wikimedia Commons.) Hey! Don’t blame me if the only good royalty-free pictures of President Erdoğan come from Russia! Below: U.S. President and Commander in Chief Donald J. Trump (Photo: Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons), Canadian Prime Minister […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Stephen Mandel, Jason Kenney and the Messiah Strategy Alberta conservatives are confident will save their bacon
PHOTOS: Alberta’s latest would-be conservative leader, as seen by party insiders and supporters. (Actually, it’s Bonaparte. Alberta conservative leaders may not appear exactly imagined by Jacques-Louis David.) Below: Would-be Tory messiahs Stephen Mandel and the late Jim Prentice, and Jason Kenney. Below them: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. Stephen Mandel, former mayor of Edmonton and a […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The UCP may be a different party, but its policy document shows it’s peddling the same old … stuff
PHOTOS: Among other things, the aspirational UCP policy document would have you believe the party could balance environmental protection and the wants of recreational vehicle users if it were the government. What do you think that means? (Photo, for illustrative purposes only, grabbed from SHERP ATV.) Below: Alberta premiers Rachel Notley and Peter Lougheed (Photos: […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Stephen Mandel, past his best-before date but still politically sexy to media, declares Alberta Party leadership bid
PHOTOS: Stephen Mandel makes his Alberta Party leadership campaign announcement yesterday in Edmonton (Photo: Twitter). Below: Mr. Mandel back in the day with premier Jim Prentice, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, former Alberta Party leader Greg Clark, and United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney. Stephen Mandel’s political strategists would like you to think he’s just the […]
Posted inBestsellers
Oil’s Deep State by Edmonton author Kevin Taft returns to top of Audreys Books Edmonton non-fiction bestseller list
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended Jan. 7, 2018, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. This Wound is a World (poetry) Billy-Ray Belcourt*+ 2. Bellevue Square – Michael Redhill 3. Autumn – Ali Smith […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
‘Blockbuster’ job creation in Alberta leaves UCP in search of new talking points about ‘job killing’ carbon levy
PHOTOS: The Calgary skyline in 2016. After a bad patch, the city is now back in the BMO Capital Markets’ Top Ten performance list, thanks in part to falling unemployment rates. (Photo: Kevin Cappis, Wikimedia Commons.) Below: Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci, Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips, and Calgary Chamber of Commerce Spokesperson Scott Crockatt. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Thank God! A horserace at last for the Alberta Party leadership … probably, anyway
PHOTOS: What a glorious opportunity to use this photo of Stephen Mandel again! Say what you will about the guy, he’s got style! Below: Rick Fraser, the other former Progressive Conservative known to be running for the leadership of the Alberta Party and, by coincidence, the other credible candidate with any sort of profile as […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Tim Hortons brew-haha shows how the fast-food industry doesn’t get PR, Economics 101, or what Canadians think
PHOTOS: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne in a very old picture that has the dual advantages of showing her wearing a smile appropriate to the occasion being discussed and of having been taken by your blogger. Below: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives analyst Michal Rozworski (Photo: Twitter), the late but actual non-iconic Tim Horton (Photo: Wikipedia), […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Thanks to Donald Trump, the post-war American imperium that’s run like a Swiss watch is coming unsprung!
PHOTOS: U.S. President Donald Trump’s inaugural parade makes its way through Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2017, just before the stuff hit the fan and everything went to hell in a handbasket. (Photo: United States Navy.) Below: President Trump, former president Barack Obama, the late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and former Australian PM and […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Donald Trump: He’s bad, but I’m here to tell you he’s not the worst president our neighbours have ever had
PHOTOS: Donald J. Trump. Never mind what you think. He’s not the worst American president ever. Actually, he’s probably about the 7th worst … so far. (Photo: Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons.) Below: Worse presidents James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, Andrew Johnson, Andrew Jackson (in his dotage), Franklin Pierce and Millard Fillmore. People, I’m here to […]